2year old DGS escaping from car seat

It’s definitely the buckle.

I agree

He won’t do reins either. He wants to be free!

Thank you - the idea of not going anywhere (obviously not the school run) and being very boring is a good one (with reward for being good).

Sadly it’s the buckle he can undo.

It’s the school run she is finding difficult. He also refuses to go in the buggy and school is nearly a mile away so it’s all a bit fraught!

He has worked out how to undo the buckle.

A mini Houdini. I hope you find a solution here.

I still wonder if the straps are too loose - this can happen too easily if the child is wearing something like a puffy coat for example.

It doesn't sound like he's undoing it - it sounds like he's getting out by wriggling.

i would be wary of doing that with the reins, as the safety seat is not designed to be used like that.
in a collision the forces may cause the reins to become a hazard, risk of ligature etc.

Years ago I had a friend who put a set of reins on her child then strapped the reigns to the car seat are there any points where you could do this.? Old-fashioned reins seemed to allow this as I had to strap DD2 into a shopping trolley every time I went to the supermarket.

There are various devices available that may help. Buckle-upp is one. Search childproof car seat buckles on Google or Amazon for more info. I also think he should be taught it's unacceptable, my son did the same many moons ago. I told him if he undid the seat belt we would simply sit and go nowhere and I'd ignore him, he found this very boring after a few minutes - l had set time aside for this, took a book with me and sat and read it until he realised undoing his seat belt didn't have a fun outcome, took a couple of trips. Also - if he then doesn't undo it he gets a reward - book to read in the car etc.

The top of the harness should be about 2cm below the shoulder of a child in a rear-facing child car seat, and about 2cm above the shoulder of a child in a forward-facing child car seat.

It should be quite tight, so that only one or two fingers can fit between the child's chest and harness.

Clothing can affect how snugly the harness fits, so check it every journey.

The harness buckle should not rest over the child's tummy.

My son fits the hatmrness much tighter than I thought was necessary but he is, it seems, correct.
There's no way his infants could ever escape!

refuse to drive him anywhere until he complies.

Is it actually being put on tight enough?
They should be pretty restrictive.